On the morning of September 15, 1988, a fisherman saw a fully clothed body floating in the Cane River near Pratt’s Bridge, just south of Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The body was identified as 26-year-old Rosalind Meziere. She was from Natchitoches and was the daughter of Natchitoches Police Sergeant Walter Meziere and Allie Wright Meziere.
Rosalind was the eldest of seven siblings. Her family described her as boisterous, magnetic, and vibrant. She cared for her younger siblings and made sure they behaved when they were growing up.
“You know those movies that you see a female walk in the room and everybody’s head just turns and watches them?” said Claudine Metoyer, one of Rosalind’s sisters. “That was literally my sister.”
At the time of her death, Rosalind had two sons, a two-year-old and a six-year-old, with her boyfriend. The last time Rosalind’s mother saw her was on September 11, 1988, when Rosalind dropped off the kids so she could go grocery shopping by herself.
Afterward, she came back to spend some time with her mother. She left when the kids started getting cranky.
The last sighting of Rosalind occurred two days later, on September 13, at approximately 10:45 p.m. Rosalind had been leaving for work at Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.
When Rosalind disappeared, three of her siblings were still living at their parents’ house. Their parents would get up in the middle of the night and drive around town, looking for Rosalind until her body was found.
On September 15, the police found Rosalind’s 1985 blue Buick near the Bayou Jacko Club in Natchitoches around 4:00 p.m. The vehicle was located about 20 miles away from where Rosalind’s body was discovered.
Detectives interviewed family members, friends, and community members to figure out the timeline and sniff out any leads. An autopsy determined that Rosalind’s cause of death was possible drowning, but there was minor trauma on her face that indicated she had been in a recent physical altercation.
She may have been struck in the face, knocking her unconscious, and then was placed in the river.
Rosalind’s family believes she was murdered, and they also think they know the person responsible for her death. In 2021, new information came up in Rosalind’s case.
In May 2020, her father, Walter Meziere Sr., passed away without knowing what happened to her. At the time of Rosalind’s death, he was a sergeant with the Natchitoches Police Department, but could not obtain any information beyond what the investigators told him due to a conflict of interest.
The Mezieres had hoped that the case would be solved before he passed. They have been waiting for answers for almost 40 years and are continuing to fight for justice and closure.
If you have any information about the death of Rosalind Meziere, please contact the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 318-357-7830 or Natchitoches Crime Stoppers at 318-238-2388.
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By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
